This is a cautionary tale about the value of zoning to protect our property, our investment, and our lifestyle.
On Hatteras Island, only three villages have zoning as most of us think of it — that is zoning that sets requirements for the use of parcels of land, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. They are Avon, Buxton, and Hatteras.
Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, and Frisco are zoned S-1, which is considered the least restrictive zoning in the county. It?s a dimensional zoning that sets lots sizes, setbacks, height of building, and other requirements, but allows all uses of the property.
I have written about at least two attempts to get use-specific zoning in Frisco. In the end, few people wanted it and nothing ever happened. Folks on the island, it seems, don?t want the government telling them how they can use their property.
There apparently has been no interest in the tri-villages for use-specific zoning.
The attitude of the commissioners about zoning has been that they will not force it on a community, but if the community asks for it, they will hire consultants to bring folks together and try to help them reach a consensus.
I explain this because the North Carolina Department of Transportation is in the process of building a new bridge over Pea Island Inlet and will eventually be building a bridge of some description over the S-curves and north Rodanthe area.
To do this, they need concrete, and they have certain requirements for concrete that is used on the bridge, especially the 5-foot thick footings and caps, but not on the bridge deck.
The concrete must be delivered at 75 degrees, which is a challenge on our warm and humid island, especially in the summer. So they need a concrete plant very close to the sites of the two bridges.
The contractor on the Pea Island bridge has hired subcontractor Commercial Ready Mix Products, Inc., to provide the concrete.
And Commercial Ready Mix has chosen a site right in the middle of Waves for the concrete plant. It was formerly the site of the Dare Building supply structure.
To the south, the oceanside site is immediately adjacent to Laughing Gull Lane with 25 residential lots and 21 homes. To the north, it abuts Cedar Hammock Campground and isn?t far from Lance?s Landing with 21 moderately priced apartments.
Occupants in oceanfront cottages in Sea Isle Hills will see the concrete plant.
On the soundside directly across Highway 12 is the REAL Watersports complex, with a retail store, restaurant, training facility, and upscale condominiums.
The plant will produce concrete for the Pea Island bridge and probably for the bridge at the S-curves. Then it will go away. The attorney for the subcontractor estimates that it will be used for three to five years.
Owners of homes and businesses in the area are very much aware that we must address the many recent travel interruptions on Highway 12 and that we need these two bridges.
However, as you might guess, they are opposed to the location of the concrete plant so near their property.
The subcontractor needs a conditional use permit to locate the plant there since there will be more than one structure ? a temporary construction office, a travel trailer, and the equipment.
The subcontractor applied to the Dare County Planning Board for a conditional use permit, and the board took up the issue at its April 14 meeting.
Some 19 residents or property owners spoke during public comment at the meeting.
They had concerns about such issues as quality of life, health risks from dust and fumes, an increase in traffic, a dangerous curve on Highway 12 in the area, stormwater runoff, lighting, and nighttime operation.
They all want the contractor to find another site.
At the end of the meeting, county planning director Donna Creef went over the many conditions in the conditional use permit.
They included at the time:
- The plant shall not exceed 52 feet in height.
- Outdoor storage of aggregate material will be a minimum of 25 feet from the property line and 75 feet from a residence. Material must be kept moist at all times. Stockpiles of material will not exceed 15 feet in height with walls containing the material and tarps covering them at the close of business. Driving aisles need to be sprinkled.
- A dust collection system that recycles particulates is required with random testing and monitoring sent to the county.
- A 10-foot fence designed by a sound-level engineer that results in a maximum decibel reading of 60 at a distance of 50 feet from the site in any direction.
- Outdoor lighting must be shielded with glare directed on the site and away from adjoining properties. Fixtures must be no taller than 25 feet.
- Normal working hours are 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. If a pour is in progress at 8 p.m., hours can be extended until 10. Originally, the permit said that during the warmer months — June through September — normal working hours would not apply if night-time pours were needed because of climate conditions. A planning board member objected and that provision was eliminated.
- An engineered stormwater plan is required.
- Staging of equipment along the highway or adjacent streets is prohibited.
- All equipment must be fitted with broadband backup equipment to eliminate the annoying ?beep, beep, beep? when trucks are backing up.
- An as-built survey must be submitted. Any revisions of the site plan must be approved by the county.
- A $20,000 performance bond is required in case the subcontractor does not remove the plant.
After three hours of comment and discussion, the Planning Board voted 4-2 to send the conditional use application forward to the commissioners with a negative recommendation.
In other words, they kicked it upstairs.
Commercial Ready Mix?s attorney, Starkey Sharp of Kitty Hawk, at the meeting and in a telephone interview reiterated that the concrete plant was a permitted use of the property.
?Zoning in place is S-1 and permits all uses,? he said. And he noted that the commissioners can set conditions.
He noted that Commercial Ready Mix had a septic permit and has just received an air quality permit. It meets all state standards, and the county fire marshal has also signed off on the plan.
?It?s not as bad as people make it out to be,? he said.
Sharp noted that the plant will be modern and state-of-the art. The company, he said, is trying to address issues of lights, noise, and dust as best they can.
The plant, he said, would be a short-term neighbor, and he also emphasized its history as a lumber yard for many years.
?In this case,? he said, ?this is a good site.?
There are no wetlands and the site won?t require any fill.
?Any place we pick,? he added, ?will have someone next door and they will object?.I think the commissioners will approve the use.?
That will be seen at the May 19 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, which begins at 5 p.m. in the board?s meeting room at the government complex in Manteo.
There will not be a public hearing as is required in text amendments to the zoning ordinance, Creef said. The public comment will be quasi-judicial, though all speakers will be sworn in. If either side disputes what the board decides, they can take the issue to court.
?Our counsel has made it clear to us that they have a right to put (the concrete plant) there, but we can put our conditions on it,? said Allen Burrus of Hatteras, vice-chairman of the board.?
He added that he thinks it better that the board allow the use with conditions, rather than take the chance it will be taken to court with the end result that the company might then be able to build it with no conditions.
?I don?t think (the board) has a choice to say ?no,?? said county manager and attorney Bobby Outten.
?All uses are permitted,? he added. ?We can?t say, ?We?re not going to let you build it because the neighbors don?t like it.??
All residents, off-island property owners, business owners, and more will have their chance at the May 19 board meeting to speak for or against the concrete plant that we really need to get the bridges built at hotspots on Highway 12 on northern Hatteras Island.
No question that it?s a tough call.
And, here?s the cautionary tale.
Commercial Ready Mix is also the chosen subcontractor to provide concrete for the new Bonner Bridge, assuming litigation ends and it can finally be built.
The company chose a site in Wanchese, which had been zone S-1, but that community had been zoned just a few years earlier. So the company asked the commissioners for both a zoning text amendment and a conditional use permit.
The commissioners said ?No way? to the text amendment, that?s not what the community wants.
So Commercial Ready Mix went down the road and found another site for their concrete plant in Wanchese.
Lesson to take away: Zoning can be your friend when a concrete plant comes to town.
